U.S. patent number 7,103,397 [Application Number 10/197,839] was granted by the patent office on 2006-09-05 for apparatus to mount a mobile device in a vehicle.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Sang-Kil Oh.
United States Patent |
7,103,397 |
Oh |
September 5, 2006 |
Apparatus to mount a mobile device in a vehicle
Abstract
An apparatus to mount a mobile device having a main body with a
receiving recess to receive the mobile device, a first locker to
support and secure a lower part of the mobile device, a second
locker for elastically supporting and securing an upper part of the
mobile device to lock up or release the upper part of the mobile
device, a lock/release disposed to be movable between a locking
position of locking up the mobile device and a releasing position
to release the mobile device from the lock-up state, an ejector to
lift the mobile device in a given distance when the lock/release is
moved to the releasing position, and a mounting fixture including
position adjusting units to adjust an angle and a height of the
main body and fixing units to fix the position adjusting unit in
the vehicle. Accordingly, since the apparatus has the lock/release
and the ejector to automatically lock and release the mobile device
and the mounting fixture to adjust the position of the main body,
mounting and removing the mobile device as well as setting up the
apparatus itself and the mobile device in the vicinity of the glass
window of the vehicle to ensure the GPS receiver of the mobile
device freely to receive and transmit radio waves from satellites
at the inside of the vehicle can be easily carried out.
Inventors: |
Oh; Sang-Kil (Suwon,
KR) |
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
(Suwon-Si, KR)
|
Family
ID: |
19714968 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/197,839 |
Filed: |
July 19, 2002 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20030068986 A1 |
Apr 10, 2003 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 9, 2001 [KR] |
|
|
2001-62051 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/575.9;
455/556.1; 379/455; 379/454; 455/556.2; 455/90.3; 379/446 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R
11/0241 (20130101); H04B 1/3877 (20130101); B60R
2011/0085 (20130101); B60R 2011/0059 (20130101); H04B
1/3883 (20130101); B60R 2011/0005 (20130101); B60R
2011/0063 (20130101); B60R 2011/0084 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04M
1/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;455/556.1,556.2,575.9,90.3 ;379/446,454,455 ;248/309.1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Anderson; Matthew
Assistant Examiner: Phu; Sanh
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Staas & Halsey LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus to mount a mobile device such as a PDA or portable
telephone in a vehicle comprising: a main body having a receiving
recess to receive said mobile device; a locking unit to lock said
mobile device in said receiving recess when said mobile device is
inserted into said receiving recess; and a mounting fixture
including at least one position adjusting unit having one end
connected with said main body to adjust an angle and a height of
said main body positioned in said vehicle, and at least one fixing
unit formed on the other end of said position adjusting unit to fix
said position adjusting unit in said vehicle, wherein said at least
one position adjusting unit is formed of two pieces, each of which
comprises: a support fixed to said main body; and a supporting leg
connected with said support, having a fold with a lower end
foldable at a given length to adjust the position of said main body
together with said support.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said fixing unit
comprises: an adhesive-fixing portion to adhere said lower end of
said fold of one among said two position adjusting units to a
portion to be adhered in said vehicle; and a hook-fixing member to
fix said lower end of said fold of the other one among said two
position adjusting units by being inserted between a glass window
and said portion to be adhered in said vehicle.
3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a
lock/release disposed to be movable between a locking position of
locking up said mobile device to prevent said mobile device from
being ejected in cooperation with said first and second lockers
when said mobile device is completely inserted into said receiving
recess and a releasing position of releasing said mobile device
from the lock-up state to enable said mobile device to be ejected
when said mobile device is to be removed; and an ejector to lift
said mobile device by a given distance to make said mobile device
easily removable when said lock/release is moved to said releasing
position.
4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said lock/release
comprises: a locking unit to lock up said mobile device when said
mobile device is inserted into said receiving recess; a releasing
unit connected with said locking unit to release said locking unit
from the lock-up state when said mobile device is to be removed;
and an elastic returning unit to provide an elastic force to ensure
said locking unit and said releasing unit are maintained in said
locking position of locking up said mobile device.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said locking unit
comprises: a locking groove formed at a surface of said mobile
device and having an engaging member; and a hook member disposed to
be projected from a bottom of said receiving recess and movable
between an engaging position engaging with said engaging member of
said locking groove and a disengaging position disengaging from
said engaging member to engage with or disengage from said engaging
member when said mobile device is inserted into or removed from
said receiving recess.
6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said releasing unit
comprises a release button to move said hook member between said
engaging position and said disengaging position, connected with
said hook member of said locking unit and projected from an upper
surface of said main body at one side thereof.
7. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said elastic
returning unit comprises: an elastic spring to elastically urge
said hook member and said release button connected thereto to be
moved to said engaging position, disposed between said release
button and a support plate formed in said main body; and a support
rod to receive and support said elastic spring, connected to said
release button.
8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said fold has a
v-shaped notch structure.
9. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said supporting leg
is formed of thermoplastic polyurethane from which the adhesive is
not easily detached.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a second position
adjusting unit comprises a second supporting leg formed of
polyethylene to prevent said hook-fixing portion from being easily
cut or torn.
11. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said ejector
comprises an elastic unit having an ejecting end disposed at said
bottom of said receiving recess to alternately project from and be
inserted into said bottom.
12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said elastic unit
comprises a leaf spring having said ejecting end in which a tip is
rounded, and an elastic force larger than that of said elastic
hanger of said second locker to eject said mobile device by said
given distance by disengaging said elastic hanger of said second
locker from said elastic hanger-receiving groove when said
releasing unit of said lock/release is moved to said releasing
position of releasing said locking unit from said lock-up
state.
13. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the distance to
lift said mobile device is predetermined such that a lower end of
the upper part of the PDA is supported by said second locker at the
lifted position.
14. A locking apparatus comprising: a first locker to support and
secure a lower part of a mobile device into a recess of a mounting
device; a second locker to elastically support and secure an upper
part of the mobile device to the mounting device to lock the upper
part of the mobile device when the mobile device is inserted into
the receiving recess and to release the upper part of the mobile
device from the lock state when a force to remove the mobile device
from the receiving recess is applied to the mobile device; and a
mounting fixture including at least one position adjusting unit
having one end connected with said main body to adjust an angle and
a height of said main body positioned in said vehicle, and at least
one fixing unit formed on the other end of said position adjusting
unit to fix said position adjusting unit in said vehicle, the at
least one position adjusting device being bendable at a hinge and
the at least one fixing unit being bendable at a fold.
15. The locking apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said first
locker comprises: at least one projection hanger formed to project
from one wall of said receiving recess; and at least one projection
hanger-receiving groove formed at a corresponding portion of said
mobile device to receive said projecting hanger and thereby to
support and secure said lower part of said mobile device.
16. The locking apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said
second locker comprises: an elastic hanger having a hanging end
disposed at another wall of said receiving recess to be elastically
projected from and inserted into said other wall; and an elastic
hanger-receiving groove formed at the upper part of the mobile
device to lock up the mobile device by engaging with said hanging
end of said elastic hanger when the mobile device is inserted into
said receiving recess.
17. The locking apparatus according to claim 16 wherein said
elastic hanger comprises a leaf spring in which a tip of said
hanging end is rounded, and said elastic hanger-receiving groove
has an rounded upper edge to be in smooth contact with said hanging
end of said elastic hanger when the mobile device is inserted into
or removed from said receiving recess.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No.
01-62051, filed Oct. 9, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property
Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus to mount a portable
or mobile device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a
portable telephone, etc., in a vehicle, and more particularly to an
apparatus to mount a portable or mobile device having a global
positioning system (GPS) in the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in the position measurement operation using a GPS, a
location in space is obtained by receiving radio waves indicating
latitude, longitude, altitude, etc., from at least three satellites
through a GPS receiver and then calculating each of the distances
from the satellites by trigonometry. This position measurement
technology using the GPS is now applied to various fields including
furnishing of simple position information, precise measurement of
large public works, cartography, automatic navigation of ships,
aircrafts and vehicles, etc. Particularly, in recent years, as a
mobile device such as a PDA or a portable telephone containing the
GPS receiver is placed on the market, anybody can have an access to
GPS information.
However, the GPS information is more frequently used inside of the
vehicle rather than in general real life due to a characteristic of
geometrical information. Accordingly, to receive and transmit the
radio waves from the satellites inside of the vehicle, the GPS
receiver of the mobile device has to be disposed toward the
satellites as well as in the vicinity of a glass window of the
vehicle. However, up to now, an apparatus to mount the GPS receiver
or the mobile device containing the GPS receiver in the vehicle to
conform the above conditions has not been developed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a
new apparatus to mount a mobile or portable device such as a PDA or
a portable telephone having a GPS receiver in a vehicle, which can
be easily set up in the vicinity of a glass window of the vehicle
to ensure the mobile device freely receives and transmits radio
waves from satellites.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new
apparatus to mount a mobile device in a vehicle, which enables easy
mounting and removal of the mobile device.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set
forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will
be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of
the invention.
The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are
achieved by providing an apparatus to mount a mobile device such as
a PDA or a portable telephone in a vehicle comprising: a main body
having a receiving recess to receive the mobile device; a first
locker to support and secure a lower part of the mobile device when
the mobile device is inserted in the receiving recess, a second
locker to elastically support and secure an upper part of the
mobile device, to lock up the upper part of the mobile device when
the mobile device is inserted into the receiving recess and to
release the upper part of the mobile device from the lock-up state
when a force to remove the mobile device from the receiving recess
is imparted on the mobile device; and a mounting fixture including
at least one position adjusting unit having one end connected with
the main body to adjust an angle and a height of the main body
positioned in the vehicle, and at least one fixing unit formed on
the other end of the position adjusting unit to fix the position
adjusting unit in the vehicle.
In an embodiment of the invention, the first locker comprises: at
least one projection hanger formed to project from one wall of the
receiving recess; and at least one projection hanger-receiving
groove formed at a corresponding portion of the mobile device to
receive the projecting hanger and thereby to support and secure the
lower part of the mobile device.
The second locker comprises: an elastic hanger having a hanging end
disposed at another wall of the receiving recess to be elastically
projected from and inserted into the other wall; and an elastic
hanger-receiving groove formed at the upper part of the mobile
device to lock up the mobile device by engaging with the hanging
end of the elastic hanger when the mobile device is inserted into
the receiving recess.
The position adjusting unit is formed of two pieces, each of which
comprises: a support fixed to the main body; and a supporting leg
connected with the support, having a fold with a lower end foldable
at a given length to adjust the position of the main body together
with the support.
In one aspect of the invention, the fixing unit comprises: an
adhesive-fixing portion to adhere the lower end of the fold of one
among two position adjusting unit to a portion to be adhered in the
vehicle, and a hook-fixing member to fix the lower end of the fold
of the other one among the two position adjusting units by being
inserted between a glass window and the portion to be adhered in
the vehicle.
Also, the apparatus of the invention may include a lock/release
disposed to be movable between a locking position of locking up the
mobile device to prevent the mobile device from being ejected in
cooperation with the first and second lockers when the mobile
device is completely inserted into the receiving recess and a
releasing position of releasing the mobile device from the lock-up
state to enable the mobile device to be ejected when the mobile
device is to be removed, and an ejector to lift the mobile device
by a given distance to make the mobile device easily removable when
the lock/release is moved to the releasing position.
The lock/release comprises: a locking unit to lock up the mobile
device when the mobile device is inserted into the receiving
recess; a releasing unit connected with the locking unit to release
the locking unit from the lock-up state when the mobile device is
to be removed; and an elastic returning unit to provide an elastic
force to ensure the locking unit and the releasing unit are
maintained in the locking position of locking up the mobile
device.
In another aspect of the invention, the locking unit comprises: a
locking groove formed at a surface of the mobile device and having
an engaging member; and a hook member disposed to be projected from
a bottom of the receiving recess and movable between an engaging
position engaging with the engaging member of the locking groove
and a disengaging position disengaging from the engaging member to
engage with or disengage from the engaging member when the mobile
device is inserted into or removed from the receiving recess, and
the releasing unit comprises a release button to remove the hook
member between the engaging position and the disengaging position,
connected with the hook member of the locking unit and projected
from an upper surface of the main body at one side thereof.
Also, the elastic returning unit comprises: an elastic spring to
elastically urge the hook member and the release button connected
thereto to be moved to the engaging position, disposed between the
release button and a support plate formed in the main body; and a
support rod to receive and support the elastic spring, connected to
the release button.
The ejector comprises an elastic unit having an ejecting end
disposed at the bottom of the receiving recess to be able to be
projected from or inserted into the bottom.
In an aspect of the invention, the elastic unit is formed of a leaf
spring having the ejecting end in which a tip is rounded and an
elastic force larger than that of the elastic hanger of the second
locker to eject the mobile device by the given distance by
disengaging the elastic hanger of the second locker from the
elastic hanger-receiving groove when the releasing unit of the
lock/release is moved to the releasing position of releasing the
locking unit from the lock-up state.
The foregoing and other objects of the present invention may also
be achieved by providing an apparatus to mount a mobile device such
as a PDA or a portable telephone in a vehicle comprising: a main
body having a receiving recess to receive the mobile device; a
first locker to support and secure one end of the portable device
when the mobile device is inserted into the receiving recess; a
lock/release disposed to be movable between a locking position to
lock up the mobile device to prevent the mobile device from being
ejected in cooperation with the first locker when the mobile device
is completely inserted into the receiving recess and a releasing
position to release the lock-up of the mobile device to enable the
mobile device to be ejected when the mobile device is to be
removed; an ejector to lift the mobile device by a given distance
to make the mobile device easily removable when the lock/release is
moved to the releasing position, and a mounting fixture including
at least one position adjusting unit having one end connected with
the main body to adjust an angle and a height of the main body
positioned in the vehicle; and at least one fixing unit formed on
the other end of the position adjusting unit to fix the position
adjusting unit in the vehicle.
The apparatus to mount the mobile device of the invention may
further comprise: a second locker to elastically support and secure
the other end of the mobile device, to lock up the other end of the
mobile device when the mobile device is inserted into the receiving
recess and to release the other end of the mobile device from the
lock-up state when a force to remove the mobile device from the
receiving recess imparted on the mobile device is above a given
range. At this time, a force of the ejector to lift the mobile
device by the given distance may be set to be larger than the force
to remove the mobile device from the receiving recess imparted on
the mobile device when the other end of the mobile device begins to
be released from the lock-up state.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent and more readily appreciated from the following
description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings of which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus to mount a mobile
device in a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of the present
invention illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is partial cross-sectional view illustrating a lock/release
of the apparatus of the present invention taken along lines I--I of
FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a locking unit and a releasing unit
of the lock/release illustrated in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second locker and an
ejector of the apparatus of the present invention taken along lines
II--II of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are partial cross-sectional views of the second
locker and the ejector illustrated in FIG. 5.
FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are partial cross-sectional views of the
locking unit of the lock/release illustrated in FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the
present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to
like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in
order to explain the present invention by referring to the
figures.
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an apparatus 200 to
mount a PDA 100 containing a GPS receiver (not shown) in a vehicle
in accordance with the present invention. Here, it will be noted
that the apparatus 200 of the present invention is illustrated as
used to mount the PDA 100, but the present invention is not limited
to this and can be used with other mobile devices, such as a
portable telephone having the GPS receiver.
The apparatus 200 according an embodiment of the invention
comprises a main body 10 having a receiving recess 16 to receive
the PDA 100 in which the GPS receiver is connected to a jack (not
shown) to connect a power supply of the vehicle through an electric
wire 101, a first locker 20 to support and secure a lower part of
the PDA 100 when the PDA 100 is inserted into the receiving recess
16, a second locker 30 to elastically support and secure an upper
part of the PDA 100, to lock up the upper part of the PDA 100 when
the PDA 100 is inserted into the receiving recess 16 and to release
the upper part of the PDA 100 from the lock-up state when a force
to remove the PDA 100 from the receiving recess 16 is applied to
the PDA 100, and a mounting fixture 80 to adjust an angle and a
height of the main body 10 and fix the main body 10 in the vicinity
of a front glass window 12 of the vehicle.
The first locker 20 has first and second projection hangers 22 and
22', respectively, each of which is formed to project from a side
wall 14 positioned at a lower side (a right side in FIG. 1) of the
receiving recess 16, and first and second projection
hanger-receiving grooves 21 and 21', each of which is formed at the
lower part of the PDA 100 to receive the corresponding first or
second projecting hangers 22 and 22' and thereby to support and
secure the lower part of the PDA 100. The first and second
projecting hangers 22 and 22' and the first and second projection
hanger-receiving grooves 21 and 21' are engaged with each other to
support the lower part of the PDA 100 while the PDA 100 is inserted
into the receiving recess 16 and to secure the lower part of the
PDA 100 in the receiving recess 16 after the PDA 100 is completely
inserted into the receiving recess 16.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, the second locker 30 has an
elastic hanger 31 having a hanging end 35 disposed in the side wall
14 positioned at an upper side (left-hand side of FIG. 1) of the
receiving recess 16 to be elastically projected from and inserted
into the side wall 14 through a hole 36 therein, and an elastic
hanger-receiving groove 32 formed at the upper part of the PDA 100
to lock up the PDA 100 by engaging with the engaging end 35 of the
elastic hanger 31 when the PDA 100 is inserted into the receiving
recess 16. The elastic hanger 31 is preferably formed of a leaf
spring, in which a tip of the engaging end 35 is rounded and a
fixing end 34 is fixed on an under-surface of a bottom 13 by a
fixing member 33 such as a bolt. Also, the elastic hanger-receiving
groove 32 has a rounded upper edge to be in smooth contact with the
hanging end 35 of the elastic hanger 31 when the PDA 100 is
inserted into or removed from the receiving recess 16.
Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, the elastic hanger 31 of
the second locker 30 releases the PDA 100 from the lock-up state by
disengaging from the elastic hanger-receiving groove 32 when the
PDA 100 is removed from the receiving recess 16 of the main body
10, and as illustrated in FIG. 6B, locks up the PDA 100 by engaging
with the elastic hanger-receiving groove 32 when the PDA 100 is
inserted into the receiving recess 16 of the main body 10.
Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mounting fixture 80 comprises
first and second fixing units 60 and 60', each of which is bendable
by a hinge and a fold to adjust an orientation, i.e., the angle and
the height of the main body 10 positioned in the vehicle.
The first fixing unit 60 has a first position adjusting unit which
comprises a first mount 61 hinged by a first hinge 67 at a lower
part (right-hand side of FIG. 1) of the main body 10 and a first
supporting leg 62 fixed to the first mount 61; and an
adhesive-fixing portion 65 to adhere the first supporting leg 62 to
a portion 11 of the vehicle, formed on the first lower end 64 of
the first supporting leg 62.
The first supporting leg 62 has a first fold 63 to fold a first
lower end 64 by a given length to adjust the angle and the height
of the lower part of the main body 10 in the vehicle together with
the first hinge 67. The first fold 63 assumes a structure in which
v-shaped notches are formed at both faces of the first supporting
leg 62 to be able to bend the first lower end 64 of the first
supporting leg 62 at a given angle.
In one aspect of the invention the adhesive-fixing portion 65 is
formed of an adhesive such as a both-sided adhesive tape, and the
first supporting leg 62 to be adhered by the adhesive-fixing
portion 65 is formed of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) from which
the adhesive is not easily detached. Also, the first lower end 64
of the first supporting leg 62 may be formed of a thin thickness
enough to assist the adhering of the adhesive and to be easily bent
according to a shape of the portion 11 of the vehicle to be adhered
by the adhesive-fixing portion 65. The first supporting leg 62 at a
first upper end 68 is inserted and fixed in the first mount 61
which is formed of a general plastic material.
The second fixing unit 60' of the mounting fixture 80 has a second
position adjusting unit which comprises a second mount 61' hinged
by a second hinge 67' at an upper part (left-hand side of FIG. 1)
of the main body 10 and a second supporting leg 62' fixed to the
second mount 61'; and a hook-fixing member 66 to insert and fix the
second supporting leg 62' between the front glass window 12 and the
portion 11 of the vehicle to be adhered by the adhesive-fixing
portion 65, formed on the second lower end 64' of the first
supporting leg 62'.
The second supporting leg 62' has a second fold 63' to fold a
second lower end 64' in a given length to adjust the angle and the
height of the upper part of the main body 10 in the vehicle
together with the second hinge 67'. The second fold 63' assumes the
same structure as that of the first fold 63, in which v-shaped
notches are formed at both faces of the second supporting leg 62'
to be able to bend the second lower end 64' of the second
supporting leg 62' at a given angle. Preferably, the second
supporting leg 62' is formed of polyethylene (PE) to prevent the
hook-fixing portion 66 from being easily cut or torn.
The second supporting leg 62' at a second upper end 68' is inserted
and fixed in the second mount 61' which is formed of a general
plastic material.
Also, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the apparatus 200 of the
invention further comprises a lock/release 50 which is positioned
in a locking position D of locking up the PDA 100 to prevent the
PDA 100 from being ejected in cooperation with the first and second
lockers 20 and 30 when the PDA 100 is completely inserted into the
receiving recess 16, and which can be moved by a user to a
releasing position E of releasing the PDA 100 from the lock-up
state to enable the PDA 100 to be ejected when the PDA 100 is to be
removed, and an ejector 40 to lift the PDA 100 by a given distance
to make the PDA easily removable when the lock/release 50 is moved
to the releasing position E.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the lock/release 50 comprises a locking
unit 51 to lock up the PDA 100 when the PDA 100 is inserted into
the receiving recess 16, a releasing unit 70 connected with the
locking unit 51 and disposed to be movable by a user to release the
locking unit 51 from the lock-up state when the PDA 100 is to be
removed, and an elastic returning unit 54 to provide an elastic
force to ensure the locking unit 51 and the releasing unit 70 to be
maintained in the locking position D of locking up the PDA 100.
As illustrated in FIGS. 7A through 7C, the locking unit 51
comprises a locking groove 56 formed in a bottom surface of the PDA
100 and having an engaging member 55 with a lower inclined surface,
and a hook member 52 disposed to be projected from the bottom 13 of
the receiving recess 16 through a first guide hole 19 therein and
to be movable between an engaging position engaging with the
engaging member 55 and a disengaging position disengaging from the
engaging member 55 to engage with or disengage from the engaging
member 55 when the PDA 100 is inserted into or removed from the
receiving recess 16, and a first guide member 53 to guide the
movement of the hook member 52 at the inside of first guide hole
19.
Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4, the releasing unit 70 has a
release button 71 to move the hook member 52 between the engaging
position and the disengaging position, connected with the first
guide member 53 of the locking unit 51 and projected from a second
guide hole 18 which is formed in an upper surface of the main body
10 at one side thereof, and a second guide member 72 to guide the
movement of the release button 71 at the inside of the second guide
hole 18.
Also, the elastic returning unit 54 comprises an elastic spring 58
disposed between the second guide member 72 and a supporting plate
17 extended below the bottom 13 of the main body 10, elastically to
urge the hook member 52 and the release button 71 connected thereto
to be moved to the engaging position, and a support rod 59
connected with the second guide member 72 of the releasing unit 70
to receive and support the elastic spring 58.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the ejector 40 comprises an L-shaped leaf
spring having an ejecting end 41 in which a tip is rounded and a
fixing end 42 disposed below the bottom 13 of the main body 10. The
ejecting end 41 is disposed at the bottom 13 of the receiving
recess 16, so that it can be projected from or inserted into the
bottom 13 through a hole 44 therein. The fixing end 42 is fixed on
an under-surface of the bottom 13 of the main body 10 by a fixing
member 43 such as a bolt.
It is an aspect of the invention that the L-shaped leaf spring
forming the ejector 40 is formed to have an elastic force larger
than that of the elastic hanger 31 of the second locker 30 to eject
the PDA 100 by the given distance by disengaging the elastic hanger
31 of the second locker 30 from the elastic hanger-receiving groove
32 when the releasing part 70 of the lock/release 50 is moved by
user to the releasing position E as shown in FIG. 3.
In another aspect of the invention, in order to prevent the PDA 100
from being excessively ejected and falling out of the apparatus 200
when the PDA 100 is ejected by the ejector 40, an ejecting height
H, i.e., the elastic force of the ejector 40 and a returning height
of the ejecting end 41 are set to ensure a lower portion 38 of the
upper part of the PDA 100 is supported by the engaging end 35 of
the second locker 30, as illustrated in FIG. 6A.
As explained above, since the apparatus 200 to mount the PDA 100 in
accordance with the present invention has units 20, 30, 40 and 50
to mount the PDA 100 in and remove it from the main body 10 and
mounting unit 80 to fix the main body 10 in the vehicle, mounting
and removing the PDA 100 on and from the apparatus 200 of the
invention, as well as setting up the apparatus 200 itself and the
PDA 100 in the vicinity of the front glass window 12 of the vehicle
to ensure the GPS receiver of the PDA 100 receives and transmits
the radio waves from the satellites at the inside of the vehicle,
can be easily carried out.
However, it will be noted that the apparatus 200 of the present
invention is not limited to the structure as disclosed above, and
if necessary, can include a unit to charge the PDA 100, a unit to
connect the GPS receiver with an outside antenna of the vehicle,
etc.
The process of fixing the apparatus 200 to mount the PDA 100 of the
present invention in a vehicle will now be explained.
First, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the hook-fixing member 66 of the
second fixing unit 60' is inserted and fixed in a narrow space
between a front glass window 12 and the portion 11 of the vehicle
on which the apparatus 200 is to be disposed. Then, the second fold
63' of the second supporting leg 62' is bent to adjust a height of
the main body 10 disposed on the portion 11 of the vehicle. After
the height of the main body 10 is adjusted, angles of first and
second hinges 67 and 67' of first and second mounts 61 and 61' are
adjusted to set a horizontal position of the main body 10. After
the horizontal position of the main body 10 is set, the first lower
end 64 of the first supporting leg 62 is bent according to the
adjusted horizontal position of the main body 10 and the
adhesive-fixing portion 65 is then adhered to the portion 11 of the
vehicle. As a result, the apparatus 200 is disposed in the vicinity
of front glass window 12 of the vehicle to ensure the GPS receiver
contained in the PDA 100 freely receives and transmits radio waves
from satellites at a position within the vehicle.
Next, the operation of mounting the PDA 100 in the apparatus 200 of
the present invention will now be explained.
First, a lower part of the PDA 100 is inserted into a lower part of
the receiving recess 16 to fit the first and second projection
hangers 22 and 22' of the second locker 20 in first and second
projection hanger-receiving grooves 21 and 21'. Then, an upper part
of the PDA 100 is pushed in an arrow direction B illustrated in
FIG. 6A and inserted into the receiving recess 16 of the main body
10. At this time, the engaging end 35 of the elastic hanger 31 of
the second locker 30 is pushed by the lower portion 38 of the upper
part of the PDA 100 and then put into one side wall 14 of the main
body 10. After that, when the PDA 100 keeps going down, a bottom
surface of the PDA 100 comes in contact with the ejecting end 41 of
the ejector 40 and pushes the ejecting end 41 down. At this time, a
lower inclined surface of the engaging member 55 of the locking
groove 56 formed at a bottom surface of the PDA 100 comes in
contact with an upper inclined surface of the hook member 52 of the
lock/release 50, as illustrated in FIG. 7A.
In this state, when the PDA 100 keeps going down, the lower
inclined surface of the engaging member 55 comes into sliding
contact with the upper inclined surface of the hook member 52, so
that the hook member 52 is moved in an arrow direction A
illustrated in FIG. 7B and put into the locking groove 56. As
illustrated in FIG. 7C, as the slide contact between the lower
inclined surface of the engaging member 55 and the upper inclined
surface of the hook member 52 is finished, the hook member 52 is
returned to a locking position engaging the engaging member 55 of
the locking groove 56 by the elastic spring 58 (see FIG. 3) of the
elastic returning unit 54. At this time, the engaging end 35 of the
elastic hanger 31 is also engaged with the elastic hanger-receiving
groove 32 of the PDA 100 and locked up. As a result, the PDA 100 is
fixed in the receiving recess 16 of the main body 100.
Next, the operation of removing the PDA 100 from the apparatus 200
of the present invention will now be explained.
First, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the release button 71 of
the releasing part 70 is pushed down and slid by a user to be moved
to a releasing position E. At this time, the hook member 52, which
is engaged with the engaging member 55 of the locking groove 56, is
moved in the arrow direction A illustrated in FIG. 7C to be
disengaged with the engaging member 55. As a result, the ejecting
end 41 of the ejector 40 forces the PDA 100 to be pushed up. At
this time, since an elastic force of the ejector 40 is larger than
that of the second locker 30, the engaging end 35 of the elastic
hanger 31 of the second locker 30 is pushed by the lower portion 38
of the upper part of the PDA 100 and then put into the side wall 14
through a hole 36 formed in the side wall 14 of the main body 100.
Also, since the elastic force of the ejector 40 and a returning
height of the ejecting end 41 are set to ensure the PDA 100 to be
ejected to a given height H, the lower portion 38 of the upper part
of the PDA 100 is supported by the engaging end 35 of the elastic
hanger 31 of the second locker 30. Thus, the PDA 100 is not
excessively ejected from the receiving recess 16 to fall off the
main body 10, but instead can be easily removed by the user.
As apparent from the foregoing description, it can be appreciated
that the apparatus 200 of the invention provides effects which can
easily carry out mounting and removing the PDA 100 thereon and
therefrom as well as setting up the apparatus 200 itself and the
PDA 100 in the vicinity of the glass window of the vehicle to
ensure the GPS receiver of the PDA 100 freely receives and
transmits the radio waves from the satellites at the inside of the
vehicle.
Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown
and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing
from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which
is defined in the claims and the equivalents.
* * * * *